


Currents

by donniedont



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Multi, Original Character(s), Polyamory, Reunions, Sleepy Kisses, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:33:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22866385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donniedont/pseuds/donniedont
Summary: Dimitri is nervous leaving his husband and daughter for a solo visit to Almyra.  But when he reunites with his partners, Claude and Marianne, he finds himself able to push through his anxieties to enjoy himself.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Dedue Molinaro, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Marianne von Edmund/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	Currents

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ethereally](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ethereally/gifts), [godofmorons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/godofmorons/gifts), [berryhellscape](https://archiveofourown.org/users/berryhellscape/gifts).



> This fic was made possible by quite a few people:
> 
> Thank you so much to Lee for asking me to take on this project. It was so much fun collaborating with Eth and Shannon to come up with a dimiclaudemari premise that appealed to all of us! I also want to give a shout out to Joey for letting me use our girl Daphne in another fic project. Thank you so much to Zee for editing another one of my fics! It was a legitimate blast going through your comments and it allowed this fic to reach its full potential! And finally, a very loving shout out to everyone who was willing to give me their cat and dog-sonas to be immortalized as Claude and Marianne's fur children! I love you all so much.

The sun feels warmer against Dimitri’s skin than it ever did in Fhirdiad. He leaned against the railing of the boat, watching the wake that it left through the clear, blue water. With no discernable land on the horizon and no companion with him on the trip outside of some members of the royal guard, he felt a sense of solitude. 

He ran his hand through his hair, feeling the salt that had began to stick to it. The sense of peace never lasted long, his internal commentary churning up quickly. He slipped his hand into his pocket, thumbing a crescent shaped earring. He had to take his earring off when the boat ride started, too irritated by the feeling of the metal hitting his face. He had asked Dedue nearly hourly the week before he left to confirm that he was comfortable with Dimitri leaving to visit Almyra. Dedue reassured him every time, carefully listing out each procedure and contingency plan they put into effect when either of them had to travel without their family. 

He gripped the earring tightly, feeling its sharp angles dig into his hand. He couldn’t help but think about his daughter. He wondered if he should have brought her. She was certainly a typical girl from Farghus, comfortable in its frigid temperature, but he wondered if leaving it for awhile would be good for her.

Dedue had caught him pondering this on the night before he left. He pointed out that while it was important that he always considered the needs of his daughter, he was supposed to be giving himself alone time with his other romantic partners. She could skip out on a trip to Almyra every once in awhile.

He felt his cheeks warming up and he moved toward a shaded area, pressing his hands against them. He was so caught up in his anxieties that he lost track of why he was on such a journey. For all the formal diplomatic intentions that were officially written up to sanction the trip, Dimitri was hoping to spend stretches of his visit focused on exchanging affections with the king and queen of Almyra, Claude and Marianne. 

He took a deep breath, staring ahead to catch a glance of a thin strip of land that was beginning to appear along the horizon line. He knew that he had a peculiar relationship arrangement. Growing up, the only person who lived a remotely similar lifestyle was Sylvain, though his relationships were always steeped with deceit, whereas Dimitri was terrified by the premise of intimacy with anyone. Time allowed them to grow, Sylvain settling down with Ingrid after the war, and Dimitri forging his own relationships as transparently as he could. 

When Dimitri reflected on it, he realized that Sylvain was one of the few friends who didn’t appear confused by Dimitri’s relationships. While Dimitri refused to seek relationship advice from Sylvain, especially after a girl at the academy chased him down after following his friend’s advice, he couldn’t help but value his approval. 

Suddenly it felt like the boat’s pace was agonizingly slow. He couldn’t help but fidget, kicking his heel against the wall behind him as he waited for the arrival at the dock. According to the latest letter he received from Claude and Marianne, they planned on being there for his arrival. When he got a visual of the dockside he couldn’t help but go toward the railing again, craning his neck and hoping he could locate them waiting. He searched for the shock of blue that was Marianne’s hair or a the bright golds and greens Claude favored, only able to see them briefly before a member of his royal guard called for him. 

He tried to be as patient as possible, nearly bouncing in place while he waited for the boat to arrive at the dock. When he was able to leave the boat he stared ahead, his eyes adjusting to the light and the gorgeous sight of Marianne and Claude waving at him. He had to remind himself to walk carefully down the ramp, charging toward them the moment his feet landed on the dock. He grabbed the two of them by their waists before they could even react, lifting them up as he hugged them. He twirled them around, unable to resist laughing.

Once they were in the air, they were able to react. Marianne brought her arms around Dimitri’s neck, giggling as Claude initially struggled against him until he was able to realize that he was stable in his arms. He braced a hand against Dimitri’s shoulder for additional support.

“You had to show off, didn’t you?” Claude said, his voice thick. Dimitri knew by now that it was the same tone with which he said I love you and had just as much weight. “Welcome back, your kingliness. There’s a carriage waiting, so let’s head out”

Dimitri smiled, resisting the temptation to carry them all the way toward it. He carefully placed them both back down on the ground and they headed toward the carriage. Dimitri couldn’t help but trail behind, wanting to insert himself between Claude and Marianne and grab their hands. There was always the question of how open everyone was supposed to be with a relationship like this. Claude was naturally not the most forthcoming with any of his relationships, his marriage to Marianne surprising many of his own constituents, as they did not realize that they were courting. Marianne, though far more confident than she was in her academy days, preferred to focus her public appearances on political efforts. Dimitri’s private life was intertwined with his public one, his relationship with Dedue an easy target for scrutiny long before they were ever romantically involved. If word got out beyond guards about his relationships with Claude and Marianne, he was certain they could weather it, but it was not something he was prepared to juggle.

They arrived at the carriage, their placement inside falling naturally to Claude and Marianne on one side and Dimitri on the other. As soon as the door was closed, the three of them embraced again, this time with their faces pressed close together. Dimitri saw Claude turn his head closer toward Dimitri and he took the opportunity to kiss him, a tentative kiss that gave way to deeper, exploratory ones. Dimitri felt a moan tumble out of his mouth and he pulled away, Claude laughing softly.

“Hey, come back,” Claude whispered.

Dimitri smiled bashfully, kissing him once more before he faced Marianne. Marianne pulled him close, their kisses starting openmouthed and passionate. She stopped kissing him to rest her forehead against his, closing her eyes before she asked, “Did you have a good trip?”

Dimitri kept his face close as he said, “As well as it could be. I missed you both terribly.”

“And we missed you,” Marianne replied. Dimitri fumbled around, searching for Claude’s hand until he felt it. Claude splayed his fingers, Dimitri carefully fitting his own in the space he created. As difficult as the distance could be at times, he couldn’t deny that he loved the certainty that they would always fit perfectly into place again. 

Dimitri let himself sink to the floor, content to rest his head on Marianne’s lap while he gripped Claude’s hand, running his thumb along the side of it. He was aware he probably looked ridiculous, but he couldn’t resist. He stayed there until the carriage began to hit tough terrain, sitting back, grateful that they all adjusted their legs in a way that they were all still touching.

The carriage eventually stopped, the driver opening up the door. Dimitri brought his hand to his brow, allowing himself to focus on the beauty that was the palace in front of him. 

A part of Dimitri longed for the openness that was a palace. Aside from the beautiful metalwork of the gate just outside of it, it lacked a lot of the fortification efforts that Dimitri’s castle had. The building itself was a warm, gold color with bright bunting and banners attached to it. Dimitri had made similar attempts to beautify his own castle, commissioning several artists to create detailed tapestries. Even then, it just felt like attempts to cover something up as opposed to a loving invitation.

Dimitri nearly had to wrestle pieces of his luggage from his royal guard, bringing it over his shoulder before Claude and Marianne led him to their living quarters. 

“You didn’t bring any familiar faces with you,” Claude noted, a smirk on his lips.

“Dedue’s suggestion,” Dimitri replied, “He said that less familiar faces meant we could perhaps have more… time to ourselves.” He felt his cheeks warming up again, unable to look at Marianne and Claude for a moment. “It was… pragmatic in parts, as well. Ingrid has just returned from Gautier territory and she and Ashe want to get back to their old routines...”

They stopped in front of the door, Marianne’s mouth covered and Claude unable to contain a grin. “And to think I’m the one called the master tactician,” Claude noted, opening up the door. “You know the routine, your kingliness, just…” 

Dimitri heard the patter of animal nails against the hard floor and he couldn’t help but attempt to squeeze through the doorway immediately. He braced himself as several of Claude and Marianne’s dogs, along with a pair of their more curious cats greeted him. One of the dogs jumped up on him and he happily caught them by their paws, placing them down before greeting each animal individually. Once he was able to take several steps inside he bent down, allowing himself to be bowled over by dogs enthusiastically licking him. He felt one step on the pocket of his pants and he immediately jumped up, returning to Claude and Marianne.

“I almost forgot!” he exclaimed. “I have…” He pulled several pieces of paper and two envelopes from his pockets, “... a letter from Dedue for each of you. And some art Daphne insisted on giving you.” He opened up one of the loose pieces of paper and smiled fondly at his daughter’s careful attempt to draw a wyvern and a horse. 

Claude grinned as he held up the drawing. “We gotta add these to the wall!” he exclaimed. 

Marianne nodded enthusiastically. “We’ll have to write her a letter thanking her,” she added.

Dimitri smiled, unable to resist the sense of pride blooming from his chest. He was aware that many of the elders in Fhirdiad worried that Dedue and he were raising the princess of Fódlan to be far too soft. She didn’t take to combat like Dimitri and his childhood friends did and seeing as though she was raised during consistent peace, Dedue refused to force her to. She could use an axe and a lance well enough, but if left to her own devices, she was far more content reading and attempting to recreate illustrations she found in the text. 

“How is our little niece doing?” Claude asked.

“Though from your letters, it sounds like she might end up taller than me next time we see her,” Marianne noted.

Dimitri laughed. She wasn’t quite that height yet, but it was hard to deny that she was towering over her peers the last time Dedue and he brought her on a visit to Mercedes’s orphanage. The thinly veiled attempt to have her be able to spend time with children her age was a failure, Daphne vastly preferring to sit at a table with her parents and Mercedes with a book rather than running around with the other children.

There were details he wanted to work into his letters to them, but he never quite knew how to say it. While he struggled with his own sense of alienation with peers, it didn’t truly present itself until after several traumatic events. Without those moments to frame Daphne’s own experiences, he worried that the concept of having a child was a selfish endeavor. That his own ghosts found her and sank their nails into her, cursing her to the intensity that his mind operated in. 

“Dimitri?” Marianne asked.

Dimitri tapped the side of his head lightly and sighed. There was an ache that seemed to begin to start from the root of his hair and he wondered if he had too much sun during the boatride. “My apologies,” he murmured, “I was… I was thinking about Daphne.”

Claude frowned. “What’s troubling you?” he asked, “I mean, we aren’t… parents to humans, but this looks like it’s weighing on you.” He sat down on the sofa, reaching over to pet a black cat that was curled up in the spot next to him. “Hey, Joey baby,” Claude murmured, scratching under the cat’s chin. The cat’s eyes opened up a crack, exposing a brilliant shade of blue. 

Marianne took the open seat next to Joey and Dimitri sat on the floor again, the dogs thankfully calmed down enough to flop around him as opposed to jumping on him. He rubbed their ears and checked their tags a second time to see if there was anyone new in the group. He felt a cold nose against the back of his arm and he turned around, greeted by a cat with curious eyes and an undeniably charming bobbed tail. He checked the name on the tag and asked, “Ashe? Like our friend?”

“Oh, no,” Claude said, moving his hands along Joey’s head. “She had the name when we got her. But we figured it was meant to be.”

“Well, hello, Ashe,” Dimitri greeted her. She bopped her head under his arm and tucked herself there. He laughed, running his fingers through her short fur. 

“So what is going on with Daphne?” Marianne asked. “Is she ill, or…”

Dimitri sighed. He spotted a large dog the color of a deep gold and smiled. “Lee, is it you?” he asked, the dog giving him a look that he could only describe as recognition. He grinned, remembering that it was Lee that had kept him company during difficult conversations in the past. He guided the dog to sit near him, placing their head in his lap. He kept one hand petting Ashe while his other hand rubbed Lee’s ear. 

“I worry about her,” he admitted, “She’s nearly ten and she doesn’t seem to be able to connect with anyone her age.” He stopped petting Ashe, focusing on rubbing Lee’s ears. “Dedue had a few friends when he was growing up… I had my own friends, I just…” 

“Have you talked to her about it?” Marianne asked.

Dimitri leaned back, noticing another cat had decided to join him at his side. He checked the tag to confirm that it was Devin, a white cat with black splotches across her body. He remembered she was a rare cat who enjoyed a stomach rub and he carefully began rubbing his knuckles against her soft fur. “I mean, you know how kids are,” he said. “They tease her for her height or how she looks different from a lot of them and now I think she’s given up.” He stared down at the animals in front of him, knowing that if he looked at Marianne or Claude directly he would fall apart. He couldn’t do that so close to his arrival. 

When Claude and Marianne didn’t respond he willed himself to look up. He saw that Marianne had gotten a hold of a small, fluffy dog he remembered was named Lauren. She was one of Marianne’s trusted companions. Both Claude and Marianne were petting their respective animals, the three of them quiet for an agonizingly long moment before Claude said, “I mean, it’s not easy. She’s… she’s objectively just not like most of the kids she’s around. You know how kids can be. They find out something is different about someone and they…” He raised his hands and gestured pushing someone. 

Dimitri found himself holding his breath. Moments like this were the closest that Claude ever got to revealing his past. Dimitri knew better than to pry. After years of knowing him, he understood that Claude was just never going to be comfortable telling those types of stories, even if Dimitri provided as many of his own childhood that he could recall. They held their pain in different ways, as did Marianne and Dedue. As did Daphne, as much as it hurt to admit.

“I just want to help her,” Dimitri whispered.

“You are doing all you can,” Marianne assured him.

Dimitri nearly shook while he resisted pointed out the obvious — that it didn’t really matter if it was all he could do if it still wasn’t working. He laid down, wincing when a dog that looked like a wolf with a kinder face walked along him. Claude scolded the dog, hissing, “River,  _ no _ !” and Dimitri snorted. His head still hurt and he found his eyes closing.

“How is everybody else doing? You said Ingrid’s back to work?” Marianne asked.

Dimitri nodded, unsure if he could even be seen among the various cats and dogs. “Yes, I told her that she could stay home as long as she would like, but she refused. I assume she missed the chaos too much… or Sylvain’s fretting drove her up the ramparts.” He lifted his head slightly to add, “The twins are healthy… Astrid is taking to being an older sister well. I am certain they will be… very close.” He cleared his throat. There were always half conversations between himself and Dedue concerning having more children, but they always stayed that way. Conversations. They had focused so much of their energy on Daphne and neither of them wanted to admit that they were too drained to even consider more.

“We’ll have to head out to Fhirdiad as soon as we can,” Claude replied, “It’ll be nice seeing your circus of a royal guard.”

Dimitri laughed, the sound harsh in his mouth. “You’ve always enjoyed our dramatics and you know it.”

“Of course. Why else would I be dating the ringleader?” Claude asked. 

Dimitri shook his head, intentionally shutting his eyes. The fog of sleep rolled in quickly, resigned to animals flopping against him haphazardly. When he felt sleep nearly find him, someone began to gently shake him.

“Hey, we need you to wake up,” Claude said, his voice soft, “There’s going to be a feast for your arrival. We don’t have to be there forever, we just need you to show your face and all that.”

Dimitri slowly nodded his head. “All right,” he mumbled sleepily.

Claude took his arm and tugged on it. “C’mon, let’s get you in your feasting outfit.”   
  
Dimitri got dressed, the process notably slowed down by Claude and Marianne’s idle touches as he put on an outfit he had been gifted the last time he visited. It was made with fabric loose enough that he could dance in, the color a light blue that was the same shade as his eye. He fished for the earring that was in his other pair of pants and put it on, running his finger along the careful Duscurian metalwork for a moment.

Claude and Marianne got dressed as well, Dimitri content to distract them with a trail of his fingers or a pinch at their hips while they tried to get into their new outfits. They were eventually ready, only stopping themselves from holding each other’s hands or touching each other’s faces when they left Claude and Marianne’s bedchambers. After several steps, Claude and Marianne hooked their arms with Dimitri. Dimitri tried to slip out of their grasp, muttering, “We can’t do this…” 

Claude hushed him. “Sure we can. We’re showing our good friend around. And if they suggest otherwise, then we deal with it then.” 

Dimitri took a deep breath. He focused on how comforting their weight was against him and how complete he felt knowing they were so close to him. “I suppose I have no choice but to accept such hospitality,” he said. 

They arrived at the feast with little fanfare, a tradition that Dimitri was more than comfortable with. The Almyran traditions dictated that feasts, though they may be in celebration of the happenings of royalty, were intended to be the meeting of the community. Even then, Dimitri was easy to spot, several officials greeting him and pulling him into a variety of conversations. He tried his best to conceal his yawns as he listened. 

At this point, the relations between Almyra and Fodlan were relatively harmonious. After nearly a decade of treaties and diplomatic efforts, many of which made by Dimitri himself, trust had been built between the two countries. There were always people on the edge eyeing Dimitri suspiciously. He understood that some of it came from the valid concern of his privilege whereas others whispered phrases like “the mad king” when they thought he wasn’t within earshot. He tried his best to focus his attention elsewhere and usually got through the festivities only seeing flashes of red for a moment or two.

Right now, his challenge was to stay awake enough during these conversations. It didn’t help that the topics were not particularly captivating. He was able to nod at the right parts and a few of them assumed he was tired from his trip before moving on. The only time he truly felt awake was when someone made a point to ask about his daughter. He was content exchanging stories, unable to resist bragging about Daphne and her accomplishments. But even those conversations found a way of petering out and he excused himself, yawning toward the direction of an empty corner. 

The feast itself had a beautiful spread, every meat, cheese, and vegetable a bright color. Dimitri made a plate comprised of what looked complementary to each other, happy to be reunited with Marianne and Claude at a table. He took a tentative bite of meat and smiled when he could taste it. At this point in his life, his sense of taste was back, only waning when he found himself caught up in the darkness. These moods never lasted as long as they did when he was younger and he was appreciative. He slipped one of his hands under the table, linking his knuckles with Claude’s, as he was closest to him. They continued eating, Claude chatting passively with some people who sat near them. Dimitri stretched out his leg, bumping his foot against Marianne’s and she smiled, lightly kicking the side of his shoe. Exhaustion seemed to cling to him like a weight, his shoulders sagging even after food and drink. 

Marianne brought one of her hands underneath the table, running it along Dimitri’s leg. “Perhaps we should head out soon,” she murmured.

Dimitri eyed Claude, waiting to gauge his reaction before he said anything. Claude tightened his grip against Dimitri’s hand and sighed. “I already promised we would go out for one dance. So let’s get that out of the way and head out.” He let go of Dimitri’s hands, moving his hand to Dimitri’s thigh. “Think you can handle that?”

Dimitri took a deep breath and nodded. “I will try my best.” 

The musicians’s calmer music swirled into a more upbeat song and several people pushing the tables aside to open up more space. Almyran dance was fun to watch, but still overwhelming for Dimitri to participate in. It emphasized expression over technique, the complete opposite of tradition in Faerghus. 

It didn’t help that no matter what, the mere thought of dancing always brought him back to being young, holding hands with a brunette girl with twintails who instructed him on how to dance like a boy if he was so insistent on saying he was one. 

Claude inelegantly slid his chair back, getting up and reaching out toward Marianne with a flourish. Marianne giggled, getting up and responding with a more controlled motion as she bent her arm elegantly toward him. Claude closed the gap, grabbing her hand and leading the two of them toward Dimitri. They were nearly in sync as they twisted their arms toward him.

Dimitri reached out his hands and they yanked him up, Claude wrapping his arm around Dimitri’s. “Just one dance,” Claude whispered to Dimitri before he led them toward the center of the dancefloor. Dimitri took a shaky breath, trying to find the rhythm. He swayed to the music, pushing through the haze of exhaustion. 

Thankfully, his view was Claude and Marianne, whose dancing was far more compatible. Claude was always notably talented, his dancing confident and captivating since they were in school together. Marianne’s dancing was more restrained, twisting her limbs elegantly. Sometimes she defaulted to twirling, her skirts catching in the air before she brought her hand to her hair and ran her fingers through it. She would sometimes grow nervous, freezing in place briefly before Claude coaxed her back into the music, grabbing her hand and twirling her in place. He was content to watch the two of them dance, until they turned toward him expectantly, bringing him closer. He took a deep breath, posing awkwardly to the beat. Claude laughed, trying to imitate his dancing, Marianne joining them. For the briefest moment, Dimitri forgot that they were a spectacle of two kings and a queen acting absolutely ridiculous. He smiled, resting his head on Claude’s shoulder and feeling the weight return to his eyelids. Claude brought his hand to Dimitri’s hair, running his fingers through it. 

“I think it’s time to head out,” Marianne said. Dimitri felt a smaller hand against his back and he assumed it was hers. He couldn’t help but tilt himself toward her touch.

“I think so,” Claude replied.

Dimitri lifted his head high enough to navigate leaving the feast, politely nodding his head at anyone they saw in the process. They slipped down the halls, making their way back to Claude and Marianne’s quarters, braving the curious dogs and cats at the door until they made it to the bedroom. Dimitri sat on the edge of the bed, unable to resist bringing his arms over his head and yawned. He removed his eye patch and rubbed at his blind eye. He felt the bed sag and he brought his hand down, turning his head to confirm that Claude was on one side and Marianne was on the other. 

The temptation to cry crossed his mind, but he swallowed it down, even if it was out of joy. He knew that even if he questioned how worthy he was of love, he couldn’t deny that he felt it. For someone who felt so fractured at all times, he knew it was love like the one that he forged with Claude and Marianne that helped fill in any cracks left from the years of pain he had gone through. 

He leaned toward Marianne, Marianne placing her hand against his heart. “Let’s get ready for bed,” she suggested.

He rested his forehead against hers, clumsily untying his top before he brought his head back to remove his shirt and dropped it off the edge of the bed. He latched his fingers against his binding, undoing the clasps before he shrugged the vest off, inelegantly scratching at himself and relieved neither Claude or Marianne had a snide remark. He felt Claude immediately bring his arms around Dimitri’s waist and Dimitri placed his hands over Claude’s. All three of them were still, the only sound being a dog pawing at the door as music from the ever-distant feast played in the distance.

For a moment all Dmitri felt was the weight of the earring. The roughness of Claude’s hands and how he knew they were creeping higher up his torso. The slightest sheen of sweat against Marianne’s forehead and how it felt against his own.

He opened his eyes and leaned in to kiss Marianne. She kissed back, causing a wave of relief that washed over Dimitri, making him sigh into Marianne’s mouth. Dimitri reached behind Marianne, trying to divide his attention enough to undo the buttons in the back of Marianne’s dress. Marianne slid out of it, breaking their kiss to shimmy out of it, gently placing it on the floor. 

“I missed you so much,” Dimitri whispered several times, an incantation he learned when they became entangled with each other in the first place. Marianne smiled fondly, kissing him as he began to undo the laces of his pants. 

Claude placed his mouth at the base of Dimitri’s neck. Dimitri stopped kissing Marianne to lean back, whispering the sentiments to him, as well.

“Welcome back,” Claude said before his lips crashed with Dimitri’s. Dimitri fell against him, his body unable to hold himself up. He fell back against the bed, Claude content to follow along and join him across the bed. Marianne followed quickly behind, her body flushed with Dimitri’s. 

Claude paused and Dimitri felt his eyes grow heavy again. He yawned, quickly covering his mouth. Claude leaned in and loudly kissed Dimitri’s temple. “I think it’s time for bed,” Claude whispered.

Dimitri nodded, closing his eyes and trying to slip out of his pants, kicking them off the bed. He fumbled around, surprised he found his eye patch before he reached over to place it on the nearest table, along with his earring that he placed reverently next to it. 

“Would you like the middle?” Marianne asked.

Dimitri nodded his head again, dragging himself to the other side of the bed before he slipped under the sheets. He heard the rustling of clothes before the sheets were tugged, Claude and Marianne’s warm bodies pressed against his. He wrapped his arm around Claude as Marianne brought her own around his stomach. 

“My apologies for having such a lackluster evening,” Dimitri murmured.

“It’s the first night, Dima,” Claude reminded him, “We can take our time.”

Marianne tightened her grip around Dimitri and he smiled, against Claude’s spine. For the first time all day he welcomed sleep.


End file.
